Field of the Invention
Present embodiments pertain to a parking cooler for over-the-road vehicles. More particularly, the present embodiments pertain to a parking cooler having battery powered air conditioning using a variable speed compressor which varies operating conditions based on comparisons between temperature set point and actual temperature in a cabin.
Description of the Related Art
The increasing use of over-the-road trucks for shipping has resulted in a need for trucks to have air conditioning systems that are more environmentally friendly and which provide adequate environmental conditioning for drivers.
In long haul trucking, regulations require rest periods for drivers which have logged some maximum number of consecutive driving hours, or driving hours in a 24-hour period. When the limit is met, the drivers are required to pull off the road and rest for a preselected number of hours. Due to the requirement to pull off the road, the driver may not be able to stop at a location having shore power. Therefore, in prior art systems, trucks were required to run the engines to operate the air conditioning system and provide suitable conditions to acquire rest.
Subsequently, environmental concerns have also required that systems be developed which do not require idling of the truck in order to operate the air conditioning. This is in reaction to desires to decrease engine pollution which has, in part, been associated with idling engines.
Thus, there is a desire to provide improved environmental conditions by reducing wasted fuel and emissions associated with solely running an air conditioning system. Further, there is a competing need to provide an air-conditioning system when the truck engine is not operating to provide for driver comfort and rest.
Still further, with the desire to operate an air conditioning system solely on battery power when the truck engine is not operating, it is also desirable to provide a system which can utilize the battery power as efficiently as possible, to maintain desirable resting conditions for the driver for as long as possible.
Even further, in developing systems to meet the above criteria, it is also desirable to meet cooling capacity for various vehicles. There are various sizes of vehicles requiring differing cooling capacities. Accordingly, the ability to accommodate various cooling capacities without requiring a large number of additional parts would be desirable both for manufacturing and service and repair.
The information included in this Background section of the specification, including any references cited herein and any description or discussion thereof, is included for technical reference purposes only and is not to be regarded subject matter by which the scope of the invention is to be bound.